Budget includes tough texting penalties for new drivers

ALBANY – Tougher texting-while-driving penalties for teenage and new drivers were included in this year's state budget agreement, while harsher penalties for driving while intoxicated were dropped.

In his budget proposal in January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a one-year suspension for a texting-while-driving conviction for a driver under the age of 21. For drivers of any age who were convicted of a third drunken- or drugged-driving charge, Cuomo proposed a permanent revocation of their licenses.

Under the state's new $137.9 billion budget, which was passed by lawmakers Monday, drivers who are under the age of 18 or have a probationary license will see their driving rights suspended for 120 days on a first texting conviction and a year on the second one. But Cuomo's call for tougher DWI penalties was dropped from the final deal.

In a statement, Cuomo said the lengthier texting suspensions will keep younger drivers from picking up a bad habit.

"These new reforms continue the work we started to crack down on texting while driving and, by ensuring that our newest and least experienced drivers do not pick up this dangerous habit, we can make New York's roads safer, avoiding needless tragedy," Cuomo said in a statement.

Cuomo has successfully pushed for stricter distracted-driving penalties since taking office in 2011, when he and lawmakers changed the state's texting-while-driving ban from a secondary to a primary offense. That allowed police officers to pull over drivers specifically for texting, instead of requiring them to be pulled over for a separate offense to issue a ticket.

According the state Department Motor Vehicles, in 2013 there were 55,130 texting-while-driving tickets issued in the state, up almost 82 percent from the previous year.

Last year, Cuomo and the Legislature implemented a 60-day suspension for drivers caught texting with a learner's permit or junior or probationary license. A second offense within six months led to a second 60-day suspension for junior license holders or 6 months for probationary drivers under the 2013 law. Probationary licenses are given to newly licensed drivers for six months, or those coming off a driving suspension.

The new budget lengthens those penalties.

Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County, said the tougher texting penalties is a step toward "changing the culture for everyone's public safety."

"For a while, it had become commonplace for people to erroneously think texting was OK, but not talking on the phone," said Robach, who heads the Senate Transportation Committee. "But the reality is, the taking of your eyes off the road for any reason and for any length of time is not only dangerous, but can be deadly and we've seen that time and time again."

Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for AAA New York, said the new texting-while-driving penalties are among the harshest punishments in the country.

"It's certainly a good thing, but it's a bit watered down from the what was originally proposed," said Sinclair.

Cuomo's plan to toughen driving-while-intoxicated suspensions was totally dropped from the budget, however, though it is likely to come up again before lawmakers end their 2014 legislative session in June. Cuomo originally proposed suspending drivers' licenses for five years if drivers received two drunken-driving convictions in three years and a permanent revocation of their license for three drunken-driving convictions in a lifetime.

The state's current drunken-driving laws will remain. Currently, a driver convicted of DWI for the first time will have their license suspended for at least six months, and for at least a year on a second conviction. Three or more drunk driving convictions within 10 years can result in permanent revocation.